Is there someone else, or am I talking to myself? Mistaken words make way into my broken consciousness The city dies as I try to stay alive Waves of light make way into my almost shut eyelids Why would I drive and contemplate life? I can’t do two things at the same time And your glory passed me by in the form of a white tailed hind as it leapt across the spread of my headlights And I had to shield my eyes for the fear that I would die But I caught a glimpse of white as it passed me by Are you really here? Are you a figment of my fear? Past failed attempts feed fire to my failed attempts to come The plot can’t progress until the characters get dressed My actions can’t keep up with the speed of earth’s rotation Why have I tried to live out a lie when it’s only helping me die? O white tailed hind, I’m only a man Share the same space, surely we can’t In the same light, my frailty is shown Your beauty does not belong on this road How did I get here? Where do I stand? I had no intention to be where I am Now that I’ve seen you, I can’t help but know I don’t belong on this road

The storm is coming fast And there’s no use in praying it will pass It’s far too late to run so we’ll just sit and wait for it to come My wife and children hide, ‘hind the shower curtain side by side I try to hold on tight as darkness covers up the sky These look like big, strong hands But now they won’t even help me stand They’ve given up; they’ve given in to the water and the wind On my own strength I cannot depend I can’t even save myself; How can I save them? These look like big, strong hands I hear them call my name but I can’t move off all this weight I can’t remember what the lyrics to this line are My little daughter cries, and I can’t even look her in the eyes Helpless, I lay my head, but the real storm is up ahead That’s what I always thought they were Until You showed me there’s so much more All that I’ve tried on my own I can’t It’s time I placed my life in Your hands These look like big, strong hands And they’re the reason that I stand One nail in each, they pierced the skin But in three days You lived again Only on your strength can I depend You’ve already saved us all In Your name we win These look like big, strong These look like big, strong hands

I arrived in this city in a caravan with a heavy heart, an open mind, and a pair of willing hands What I soon would see would be more than I could take I took one step and felt my heart as it began to break So I’ll walk these streets tonight with one eye closed and the other opened wide One remembering where I have come, and the other one hoping for your will to be done They’re looking for the answer in this place They’re hoping that the pleasure outweighs the pain The streets carry their music as they play And it creates this sidewalk serenade So many people crying out in need They’re giving everything they are for temporary things The gifts they’ve been given, returned in the wrong place While beauty and potential lie behind every face So I’ll walk these streets tonight with one eye closed and the other opened wide One praying to the father above and the other one looking at my brothers and sisters with love I might have never set foot here before But my heart and mind have many times sailed upon this distant shore Blown in by the wind of the ever tempting song It sang to me the melody, just forgets what’s wrong So I’ll walk these streets tonight with one eye closed and the other opened wide One praising You for what You saved me from and the other one singing a song of grace for all who come We’re looking for the answer in this place We’re hoping that the pleasure outweighs the pain The streets carry our music as we play And it creates this sidewalk serenade

This life, at it’s absolute best, is nothing more than a big mess of everything that I think and say, 22 years but the contradiction remains This life I’ll one day leave to the rest, to you I salute from my head, full of thoughts I detest I’ve always hoped I’m not alone Our hearts speak louder than our words to the men we are and those we were There’s a gap between our brains and tongues There’s a hole in our hearts where the men we’ll become will find their start This life, at it’s absolute best, gives nothing more, less I confess Everything that has made me, me, it’s always too much, but it’s never enough This life I’ll one day leave to the rest, to you I give props from my chest, full of heart brokenness I’ve always hoped to crack this code Heretofore, this civil war has raged and roared inside my veins But the man I’ll be, he slowly leaves the former me inside his grave

Grandson drives down thirty five The grass is dry, no rain in sight Son-in-law sits on the other side Wondering if it really happened They arrive, West Stonehaven Drive The daughter and granddaughter Are waiting on the drive They embrace, the back door opens wide Husband stand, looks out and he says We need rain here in West Plains But the tears could not hide behind his face Ooh she loved him so, and he knows But it couldn’t take away the pain They go inside and wipe their eyes They settle in, but it just does not feel right Shut the blinds, just family tonight Reunite, but there’s one missing Her sweet smell still in the air Angels on the wall, her soft green chair And upstairs the grandson shaves his face After all, it’s what she’d want We need rain here in West Plains Shaving cream and tears roll down his face Ooh she loved him so, and he knows But it couldn’t take away the pain Grandson parks on thirty five The brown land echoes his heart soul and mind Family and friends are by their side Son-in-law realizes it really happened Under the tent, each takes their chair The daughter and granddaughter recite the Lord’s Prayer They say Amen, the casket’s opened wide Husband stands and says goodbye And the thunder it clapped, the lightning it struck, and heaven’s floodgates opened wide And it rained there in West Plains With each drop I can hear you say Ooh I love you so, and I know That I’ll see you again We need rain here in West Plains Heaven’s tears are falling on your grave Ooh we love you so, and we know That we’ll see you again Yeah we’ll see you again And that’s the only thing that takes away the pain